Name: Richard Flynn, a.k.a. TRA-PIX
Occupation: Clown
Background: Flynn, 42, works days as a computer programmer. Evenings and weekends he puts on his makeup and becomes a clown. A native Chicagoan, he lives on the city`s South Side with his wife of 18 years and his four daughters, aged 6 to 14.
Years in present position: 2
This whole thing started out with my kids. I always liked to fool around with them, and I would wear hats that I found around the house. I had a character that went with each one of the hats. So, over the years, I had partially established a clown character in this way.
It was a character who did a lot of bragging about what he`d done and where he`d been. But when the kids would ask about a particular place, well, he hadn`t actually been there yet. So when I decided to go into clowning, I really kind of liked the character and I just extended it by putting on makeup and the costume.
I had also worked with kids in Sunday school and at church, making up games and all of that. I enjoyed it and I wanted to do something with it, maybe to satisfy my ego. But I also heard you can make a little money with this, and I can always use extra money for expenses. So when someone told me about a six-week clown course, I decided, on a lark, to take it.
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The course is taught by a clown who teaches you all the basics: how to put on makeup and make a few balloons, some do`s and don`ts, the pitfalls of clowning and to get your money first so you don`t get ripped off. That`s never happened to me, but I can see how it could.
Once I started this class, I really got into it. It`s the same way when I`m performing. When I put the makeup on, I become TRA-PIX (the name comes from the brand name in one of my hats) and I don`t talk in my regular voice until the makeup comes off.
I put the costume together with the help of my wife. I bought a wig and a big tie and a regular shirt. Probably the best part of the costume is the vest my wife made. It has pockets that I can carry stuff in. It`s not what you would call an official Bozo-type costume, but it fits the bill for my character. As time goes on, I keep on trying to develop it more. I started out on a shoestring. You can have specially made clown shoes for a couple hundred bucks, you know, but I just bought real big gym shoes and put colored strings in, and that serves the purpose.
Every flaw in the outfit augments the character when things go wrong. People ask me why I wear sweatpants, for instance, and I say, ”With the jokes I tell, I`ve got to be able to run fast.” I count on things going wrong because I have a joke or an action that goes with every mistake. It all builds into the fun.
Being a clown is an extension of the part of my personality that wants to know that people like me and wants to make people laugh. I always feel comfortable if I can make people laugh. I don`t know jokes. If someone tells me a joke, I`ll forget it. I`ve always made myself the buffoon, laughed at myself. You can`t always please everybody, but knowing that someone is responding to me in a positive way, that they like me, I`ve made them laugh and everybody had a good time, is very rewarding.
I don`t like rejection; nobody does. And, in a sense, if I can`t get somebody to respond, that, of course is rejection. I`ve learned to deal with that. I`m not a miracle man; there are some people I can`t make laugh. I felt real bad when I was working a restaurant once and a woman came up to me and said, ”My daughter`s crying on the other side of the room because you didn`t stop and see her.” It wasn`t my fault; I couldn`t be everywhere at once. And she was wrong, I think, for doing that to me. But, still, I felt terrible.
I work children`s parties, restaurants and company parties. The parties are more profitable, but they`re harder because you`re not in a controlled environment. When you go from table to table in a restaurant, you can use the same joke at every table. But when you`re doing a group and everybody knows what`s going on, you`ve got to be a little more creative. And with a party, the kids are out there in the open. They`re not behind a table, and it takes a little more to keep them occupied. You`ve got to keep it moving because their attention span, even for a clown, is short.
When I work at a restaurant, it`s two hours. But there`s no way I can walk past kids on the way out. I don`t care how long it takes me. I hustle;
I`ve learned to keep an eye on the flow of the crowd. But I can`t walk past a kid.
To get ready for a performance, you have to first find out what you`re going to be in for, especially how many kids are involved. I`ve learned from experience to charge more if there are more than 12 kids because it becomes harder. I find out whether they want me to paint the kids` faces and if there is anything special that they want me to do or say. The only other preparation is to make sure I have all my supplies.
I`ve learned a few things about human nature from doing this. Whenever you work with the public, you see a cross-section of our society. When I work a restaurant for a couple hours, I`ll run into 50 different families or so. You see all different types.
For instance, there`s a percentage of people who have no control over their children. At best, it`s hard to have control, but I`ve seen it where the child is allowed to do whatever he wants. And, sure, it`s only a restaurant, but you`ve got to figure it carries over into other parts of their lives, too. The shocking part, to me, is the small percentage of people who make off- color references when we joke around. Strangely enough, it`s mostly women. It`s kind of embarrassing; I try to play off of it. The kids don`t know what`s being said, and I don`t really respond much. It`s kind of a stopper.
But most people are pretty good out there. They`re fun to work with. I like when the parents get involved because it adds to the fun. But if a kid cries, I have to back off. You can`t force yourself on them. Some children don`t like clowns; I didn`t, either, when I was a child.
I am aware of some of the negative things that happen in society. So I never touch the people because that could be misconstrued. The only touching I do is with my duster. But, overwhelmingly, this has been a positive experience for me. As long as people remember that behind the makeup there`s a person.
One of my greatest fears-it hasn`t happened yet-is to be dressed up as a clown, out driving somewhere, and the car breaks down. As it is, when people see me in the car, they always honk and holler. This is not just kids. If we`re stopped in a traffic jam, some guy next to me will always yell, ”Hey, man, where`s the party?”
The most embarrassing thing is having a cold when I`m working and wearing my big sponge nose. I try not to sneeze, but eventually the nose starts dripping, and people notice it. My nose has also fallen off, and my tie has broken.
But kids like stupid things. I learned that from my own kids. You don`t need to be a comic genius. I read joke books and I`ll throw out a joke now and then. But that`s mostly for the parents` benefit. The kids just like being silly.
Any trick that goes wrong turns into part of the act because it fits right into the pattern of the character that I present to them-a loser. When kids insist on a balloon animal that I can`t make, I`ll say, ”I can make you an octopus that looks just like a rabbit” or an alligator, or whatever. What else can I do?
Sometimes I`m a little down, for some reason, before I start. I ask myself, ”What am I putting on makeup for? Why am I doing this?” But then when I do it, I feel good. I`ve always wanted to touch show business somehow. Maybe this comes from watching all the kids` shows like Howdy Doody. I was in a band for a while in high school, and I`ve done some very limited public speaking, roasts for birthdays and such. So, in a way, this satisfies my show- business ambitions, on the lowest level you can get.
As I get more control of other areas of my life, I`d like to be able to move into charity work and do this for free, just to make people laugh. This is an outlet for me, too, after being in the business world. It`s a chance for me to become an idiot for a while. My secret desire is, if I ever become independently wealthy somehow, to have a big, formal banquet and throw pies.